Amazon to integrate its last-mile delivery infra with ONDC

NEW DELHI : E-commerce giant Amazon will join the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform in India. As part of its initial collaboration, Amazon will integrate its Smart Commerce and logistics services, which include pickup and delivery, with the ONDC network.

Smart Commerce is a suite of SaaS products hosted on AWS that enables MSMEs to build and scale their businesses across digital mediums and integrate with the ONDC network.

This partnership will enable Amazon to mobilise its industry-leading infrastructure and technology, including logistics and small business digitisation tools, to help the ONDC accelerate its objectives of digitally enabling small businesses and providing convenience and choice to customers across the country. It will also benefit millions of consumers with wider choices and provide greater technical support to the seller community, further empowering small businesses, the company said in a statement.

ONDC is a non-profit organisation established by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) with the aim of democratising e-commerce across the country. The ONDC network is currently piloted in 167 cities in the alpha phase, and two cities in the beta phase. A national launch is planned in early 2023.

Amazon has been committed to using technology and innovation to empower small businesses in India, and this collaboration with ONDC will provide greater technical support to the seller community and benefit crores of consumers with wider choices. Manish Tiwary, Country Manager, India Consumer Business, at Amazon India, said, “Amazon’s vision and commitment for India are closely aligned with ONDC’s objectives of digitally enabling small businesses and providing convenience and choice to customers across the country.”

Tiwary added that Amazon was excited to help ONDC achieve its goals faster by providing its infrastructure and technology.

The ONDC network protocol enables anyone to create an e-commerce marketplace and tap into the ONDC network to get products displayed and delivered without having to worry about logistics. T Koshy, Managing Director and Chief Executive of ONDC, commented, “We are happy that Amazon has a definite roadmap to being a part of the ONDC network and is taking its first step in coming in as the logistics partner in the ONDC network.”

With over 11 lakh sellers, more than 50 percent of which come from tier 2 cities and below, Amazon has so far digitised over four million small businesses and kirana stores in India and with plans to digitise 10 million small businesses by 2025. It currently delivers across 100 percent of serviceable pin codes. I CNBC